AN ACT To authorize appropriations for nanoscience, nanoengineering, and nanotechnology research, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. 15 U.S.C. 7501 note SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act. SEC. 2. 15 U.S.C. 7501 NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM.

(a) NATIONAL NANOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAM.The President shall implement a National Nanotechnology Program. Through ap-propriate agencies, councils, and the National Nanotechnology Co-ordination Office established in section 3, the Program shall

(1) establish the goals, priorities, and metrics for evalua-tion for Federal nanotechnology research, development, and other activities;

(2) invest in Federal research and development programs in nanotechnology and related sciences to achieve those goals; and

(3) provide for interagency coordination of Federal nano-technology research, development, and other activities under-taken pursuant to the Program. (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.The activities of the Program shall

include (1) developing a fundamental understanding of matter that

enables control and manipulation at the nanoscale; (2) providing grants to individual investigators and inter-

(D) make use of ongoing research and development at the micrometer scale to support their work in nanotechnol-ogy; and

(E) to the greatest extent possible, be established in geographically diverse locations, encourage the participa-tion of Historically Black Colleges and Universities that are part B institutions as defined in section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)) and mi-nority institutions (as defined in section 365(3) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1067k(3))), and include institutions located in States participating in the Experimental Program to Stim-ulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR); (5) ensuring United States global leadership in the devel-

opment and application of nanotechnology; (6) advancing the United States productivity and indus-

trial competitiveness through stable, consistent, and coordi-nated investments in long-term scientific and engineering re-search in nanotechnology;

(7) accelerating the deployment and application of nano-technology research and development in the private sector, in-cluding startup companies;

(8) encouraging interdisciplinary research, and ensuring that processes for solicitation and evaluation of proposals under the Program encourage interdisciplinary projects and collaborations;

(9) providing effective education and training for research-ers and professionals skilled in the interdisciplinary perspec-tives necessary for nanotechnology so that a true interdiscipli-nary research culture for nanoscale science, engineering, and technology can emerge;

(10) ensuring that ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal concerns, including the potential use of nanotechnology in enhancing human intelligence and in devel-oping artificial intelligence which exceeds human capacity, are considered during the development of nanotechnology by

(A) establishing a research program to identify ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal con-cerns related to nanotechnology, and ensuring that the re-sults of such research are widely disseminated;

(B) requiring that interdisciplinary nanotechnology re-search centers established under paragraph (4) include ac-tivities that address societal, ethical, and environmental concerns;

(C) insofar as possible, integrating research on soci-etal, ethical, and environmental concerns with nanotech-nology research and development, and ensuring that ad-vances in nanotechnology bring about improvements in quality of life for all Americans; and

(D) providing, through the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office established in section 3, for public input and outreach to be integrated into the Program by the convening of regular and ongoing public discussions, through mechanisms such as citizens panels, consensus conferences, and educational events, as appropriate; and

(11) encouraging research on nanotechnology advances that utilize existing processes and technologies. (c) PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.The National Science and Tech-

nology Council shall oversee the planning, management, and co-ordination of the Program. The Council, itself or through an appro-priate subgroup it designates or establishes, shall

(1) establish goals and priorities for the Program, based on national needs for a set of broad applications of nanotechnol-ogy;

(2) establish program component areas, with specific prior-ities and technical goals, that reflect the goals and priorities established for the Program;

(3) oversee interagency coordination of the Program, in-cluding with the activities of the Defense Nanotechnology Re-search and Development Program established under section 246 of the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107314) and the National Insti-tutes of Health;

(4) develop, not later than 5 years after the date of the re-lease of the most-recent strategic plan, and update every 5 years thereafter, a strategic plan to guide the activities de-scribed under subsection (b) that describes

(A) the near-term and long-term objectives for the Pro-gram;

(B) the anticipated schedule for achieving the near- term objectives; and

(C) the metrics that will be used to assess progress to-ward the near-term and long-term objectives;

(D) how the Program will move results out of the lab-oratory and into application for the benefit of society;

(E) the Programs support for long-term funding for interdisciplinary research and development in nanotech-nology; and

(F) the allocation of funding for interagency nanotech-nology projects; (5) propose a coordinated interagency budget for the Pro-

gram to the Office of Management and Budget to ensure the maintenance of a balanced nanotechnology research portfolio and an appropriate level of research effort;

(6) exchange information with academic, industry, State and local government (including State and regional nanotech-nology programs), and other appropriate groups conducting re-search on and using nanotechnology;

(7) develop a plan to utilize Federal programs, such as the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Research Program, in support of the activity stated in subsection (b)(7);

(8) identify research areas that are not being adequately addressed by the agencies current research programs and ad-dress such research areas;

(9) encourage progress on Program activities through the utilization of existing manufacturing facilities and industrial infrastructures such as, but not limited to, the employment of

underutilized manufacturing facilities in areas of high unem-ployment as production engineering and research testbeds; and

(10) in carrying out its responsibilities under paragraphs (1) through (9), take into consideration the recommendations of the Advisory Panel, suggestions or recommendations developed pursuant to subsection (b)(10)(D), and the views of academic, State, industry, and other appropriate groups conducting re-search on and using nanotechnology. (d) ANNUAL REPORT.The Council shall prepare an annual re-

port, to be submitted to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Science, and other appropriate committees, at the time of the Presidents budget request to Congress, that includes

(1) the Program budget, for the current fiscal year, for each agency that participates in the Program, including a breakout of spending for the development and acquisition of re-search facilities and instrumentation, for each program compo-nent area, and for all activities pursuant to subsection (b)(10);

(2) the proposed Program budget for the next fiscal year, for each agency that participates in the Program, including a breakout of spending for the development and acquisition of re-search facilities and instrumentation, for each program compo-nent area, and for all activities pursuant to subsection (b)(10);

(3) an analysis of the progress made toward achieving the goals and priorities established for the Program;

(4) an analysis of the extent to which the Program has in-corporated the recommendations of the Advisory Panel; and

(5) an assessment of how Federal agencies are imple-menting the plan described in subsection (c)(7), and a descrip-tion of the amount of Small Business Innovative Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Research funds sup-porting the plan.

SEC. 3. 15 U.S.C. 7502 PROGRAM COORDINATION. (a) IN GENERAL.The President shall establish a National

Nanotechnology Coordination Office, with a Director and full-time staff, which shall

(1) provide technical and administrative support to the Council and the Advisory Panel;

(2) serve as the point of contact on Federal nanotechnology activities for government organizations, academia, industry, professional societies, State nanotechnology programs, inter-ested citizen groups, and others to exchange technical and pro-grammatic information;

(3) conduct public outreach, including dissemination of findings and recommendations of the Advisory Panel, as appro-priate; and

(4) promote access to and early application of the tech-nologies, innovations, and expertise derived from Program ac-tivities to agency missions and systems across the Federal Gov-ernment, and to United States industry, including startup com-panies.

(b) FUNDING.The National Nanotechnology Coordination Of-fice shall be funded through interagency funding in accordance with section 631 of Public Law 1087.

(c) REPORT.Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House of Representatives Committee on Science on the funding of the National Nanotechnology Coordina-tion Office. The report shall include

(1) the amount of funding required to adequately fund the Office;

(2) the adequacy of existing mechanisms to fund this Of-fice; and

(3) the actions taken by the Director to ensure stable fund-ing of this Office.

ignated by the President under subsection (a) shall consist pri-marily of members from academic institutions and industry. Mem-bers of the Advisory Panel shall be qualified to provide advice and information on nanotechnology research, development, demonstra-tions, education, technology transfer, commercial application, or so-cietal and ethical concerns. In selecting or designating an Advisory Panel, the President may also seek and give consideration to rec-ommendations from the Congress, industry, the scientific commu-nity (including the National Academy of Sciences, scientific profes-sional societies, and academia), the defense community, State and local governments, regional nanotechnology programs, and other appropriate organizations.

(c) DUTIES.The Advisory Panel shall advise the President and the Council on matters relating to the Program, including as-sessing

(1) trends and developments in nanotechnology science and engineering;

(2) progress made in implementing the Program; (3) the need to revise the Program; (4) the balance among the components of the Program, in-

cluding funding levels for the program component areas; (5) whether the program component areas, priorities, and

technical goals developed by the Council are helping to main-tain United States leadership in nanotechnology;

(6) the management, coordination, implementation, and ac-tivities of the Program; and

(7) whether societal, ethical, legal, environmental, and workforce concerns are adequately addressed by the Program. (d) REPORTS.Not later than 4 years after the date of the most

recent assessment under subsection (c), and quadrennially there-after, the Advisory Panel shall submit to the President, the Com-mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House